Holy Cross at Old Forge

Recap

OLD FORGE 49, HOLY CROSS 16

Old Forge scored on its first five possessions and defensive tackle Jake Lucarelli added a 31-yard pick six as the Blue Devils cruised to a 49-16 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday at Old Forge Veterans Memorial Stadium.

TJ DiMattia got Old Forge on the board with a three-yard toss to Frankie Pero. The senior signal caller then found Chris Rasmus for a 12-yard strike and the Blue Devils led 14-0 with 4:17 left in the first.

After the first of Ryan Novak’s two interceptions, Old Forge went to the ground and Cael Krushnowski hit paydirt from four yards out. Krushnowski had his most productive rushing day of the season, carrying 10 times for 141 yards and two TDs.

DiMattia called his own number on the Blue Devils next possession from 1 yard out before Lucarelli electrified the crowd with a lineman’s dream.

With Crusaders quarterback Josh Lentowski under heavy pressure from Will Wozniak on third-and-10, Lucarelli, a 6-2, 245 junior, took an errant pass out of the air and rumbled 31 yards to the endzone and a 35-0 lead.

Holy Cross had an opportunity to cut into the deficit when Kevin Vincent went 35 yards on first down. But Pero stripped the running back and recovered the fumble at the Blue Devils 10 to reverse possession. Fourteen plays later Krushnowski was back in the endzone on a 15 yard run and a 42-0 lead.

The Crusaders did not quit as Lentowski found Vincent for a 52 yard touchdown reception with 38 seconds remaining in the first half. Lentowski then added the two-point run.

Holy Cross scored in back to back possessions, opening the third quarter with a 78 yard kickoff return by Austin Bicking to set up a Vincent one-yard plunge. This time Lenkowski found Leland Wudarski for the conversion and the deficit was 42-16.

Old Forge added its final score after a Chris Rasmus interception set up the Blue Devils at the Holy Cross nine. Nick Hewitt scored on the next play and Old Forge led 49-16.

Rasmus also had a big day on offense for the Blue Devils, setting a record for catches in a game with 10 reception that went for 90 yards.

Old Forge (4-4 overall, 1-2) will host rival River side next Friday night while Holy Cross (3-5, 0-3) hosts division leader Lackawanna Trail next Saturday.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

OF – Frankie Pero 3-yd pass from T.J. DiMattia (Isaih Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 7-0

OF – Chris Rasmus 12-yd pass from DiMattia (Josh Cistola kick) – Old Forge 14-0

2nd Quarter

OF – Cael Krushnowski 4-yd run (Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 21-0

OF – DiMattia 1-yd run (Cistola kick) – Old Forge 28-0

OF – Jake Lucarelli 31-yd interception return (Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 35-0

OF – Krushnowski 15-yd run (Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 42-0

HC – Kevin Vincent 52-yd pass from Josh Lentowski (Lentowski run) – Old Forge 42-8

3rd Quarter

HC – Vincent 1-yd run (Leland Wudarski pass from Lentowski) – Old Forge 42-16

OF – Nick Hewitt 9-yd run (Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 49-16

4th Quarter

None